We've Got Issues
by Anonymously
Summary: A short story in which I have given all of the digidestined 'Serious Issues'. Don't take it seriously. Some Romance (TaiMimi), too.
1. It begins

Disclaimer:

I do not, nor will I ever own Digimon. Yes.

Just because I put these flaws (prostitution, self-mutilation, rape, drugs, alcohol, etc.) in my story, doesn't mean I'm condoning them. But I do enjoy reading and writing about them. So feel free to criticize me all you want. Especially if I have some details wrong. But that's because I don't have any personal experience in these things, and I really don't wish to. Enjoy your reading!

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"One hundred and twenty five bucks. You are paying, aren't you?" Those startling blue eyes were focused on the girl lying on the bed, half covered in the motel sheets. With a final yank, he pulled his pants up and finished buttoning them. Shirtless, he walked over to the girl, now lying with a rapt expression on her face, eyes closed. "If you don't give it to me yourself, I'll take it." When the girl didn't move, he reached into her purse, grabbed the wallet, and took the wad of money.

He slammed the door to the motel, not caring if he interrupted her slumber. He buttoned up his light blue and white striped shirt as he stepped away. He took a quick glance around to check if anyone he knew was watching before he flattened his dirty blond hair and melting into the crowds on the sidewalk.

The strip mall lay to his left, boasting its supply of department and retail stores, each filled with its own supply of poorly made merchandise. As he passed, a girl his age sidled up next to him, her auburn eyes trying to catch his. "Hey there, handsome. You're looking tired today. It's three o'clock on a Saturday. You should be wide awake by now!" He smiled, assuming his "normal" expression.

"Just thinking about stuff, Kari." He smiled down at her. Ah, the smile. It was one of his best weapons. With one flash of it, he could make a girl melt in her shoes, and agree to whatever he suggested. Fun to use at school, a helpful business tool afterwards. "What brings you here?"

She grinned. "Just shopping for some family birthdays." She lifted a hand to brush her mahogany hair from her face. "I just couldn't stay in on a day like this. I had to do something," she added with mock drama.

"Yeah, me too," T.K. added. "Just had to get out and do something."

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"Stop!" A grunt, and he fell to the floor. A steel-toed construction boot hit him in the middle, stopping his talk. As he struggled to regain breath, more blows pummeled his bruised body. 

"Shut your face." Another kick.

Soon the larger figure lumbered back into the living room with a large belch, leaving Davis shaking on the ground. Pushing himself up, he grabbed his coat and scurried into the bathroom to check on his injuries before slipping out the front door unnoticed, heading for the park.

Once he reached the park, he felt better. His dad never left the house, except to visit the convenience store for booze or cigarettes, or if he felt like going to his construction job. A park bench, slightly separated from the rest of the hubbub of the park. Here he headed, pulling his coat up a little farther, partly against the chill breeze, and partly to hide the fresh bruise on his neck. He sighed, squinting up at the foliage above him.

His brown eyes scanned the park. There were small families walking, children playing, couples holding hands, and ... Sora? The girl had glanced his way, and he gave a recognizing smile. Though a few years older than he was, they still exchanged words every so often.

"Hey Davis." She smiled.

"Hey." He attempted a smile back. The normal Davis wasn't sad. He'd have to play it up as if he were happy.

"I talked to Kari the other day"

"Oh?"

"Yeah, she mentioned you."

"What'd she say?" He really didn't care, anyways. He'd long since moved on from the girls of his age. Now it was the girls in Sora's age group that were interesting him. Namely, Mimi. 

"Just that she had been thinking about you lately. But don't tell her I told you that." She giggled and blushed. Just like the rest of the group to still think he had interest in Kari. Hadn't it become painfully obvious how he had been blowing her off? But he put on a silly grin. Let them think what they wanted. And right now, they wanted to think that he had interest in Kari.

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Mr. Domochai walked in, calling the class to order in his feeble voice. He really was an unimposing figure, shorter than many of the students when standing straight up, but even shorter when he was in his usual hunch. "Come on class, settle down, the bell's already rung," he pleaded in his wavering voice. The class ignored him. With more bursts of laughter, they continued, until slowly dissipating and spreading back to their respective seats.

Silently, the old man took attendance, and wrote the assignment on the board. Having finished his work for the day, he shuffled over to his desk to continue whatever it was that he seemed to do every day. Once out of the way, the class separated and continued their discussions. To them, this was like a free hour. Mr. D. didn't really care what they did in here. In fact, they all passed the class with flying colors for just simply showing up.

Yolei was furiously scribbling on a piece of paper, her concentration completely focused.

"Yolei, calm down. You'll strain something working that hard." Kari grinned devilishly at the purple-topped girl.

"I know, but, it's just that it's due in fifth hour, and I still have three paragraphs."

"Yolei. It's first hour. Don't worry. You still have lunch, and anyways, who cares?" Davis piped up.

Yolei frowned. "I care." She continued the hurried scribbling. 

"What a bitch," commented Davis, as the rest of them scooted into a corner farther away, so as they wouldn't 'disturb' her.

"Yeah, she's really been acting different lately," said T.K. 

In a change of topic, Davis started babbling on about some soccer game that had been on television last night. Apparently some famous player made a big important play, winning the team the championship from the jaws of defeat. On and on he rambled, accentuating the high points of the game with wild hand and arm gestures.

Of course, T.K. and Kari weren't listening. Rather than pretending to be interested in what Davis was chattering about, T.K. was hurriedly reading an email he had just received on his pager. Kari perched behind him, reading over his shoulder. Davis continued on about the soccer game.

__

Hey guys.

I know we haven't seen each other in a couple years, but I wanted to give you the heads up. After 'touring' my colleges, I was repeatedly expelled. Apparently I'm having trouble connecting with the others in my class. So I'm going to try going to high school, where I should be. Of course, it made perfect sense to attend your school! I'll be coming in three days.

-Ken

"Ken... is coming to our high school?" uttered Kari.

"Cool," added T.K.

"Wonder what he's been up to?"

Davis continued on, oblivious.


	2. Secret goings on

Once again, I do NOT own Digimon. And Serious Issues aren't funny. Except for when they're fictional. Please R&R!  
  
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Slanting orange light filtered through the leaves of the trees. The fragrant cedar trees were in a natural circle, a small open grove in the midst of the forest. Somewhere a small animal chittered and ran off, then, all was quiet.   
  
Hanging by the edge of the trees was a girl, half-hidden, but half wanting to be seen. If anyone who wasn't the one she was seeking came by, she'd be caught. So far, this area was safe. She shivered and rubbed her arms to circulate blood. Why wasn't he here yet? She settled herself, back against a tree, to wait.  
  
A rustling sounded from the trees to the right of the girl. She shrunk away, but emerged when the figure revealed himself.   
  
"Tai, I thought you'd never get here-" Her complaint was cut off as Tai pressed his index finger against her lips, stopping her speech. A sturdy arm circled her waist and brought her closer, pressing their bodies together.  
  
"Don't talk, Mimi." He closed his eyes, and they were kissing. First innocent, but it soon progressed.   
  
Both had their jackets off now, and Mimi was leaning against the tree, Tai's body pressing into hers. Slowly her fingers entwined in the bushy hair, enjoying the feel of it as they continued. A breeze blew through the trees, making the leaves rustle. The only sound other than the wind was the soft moans of Mimi and Tai.   
  
But all good things must come to an end. Reluctantly, Mimi pulled her head away from Tai's. "We should go." Tai nodded. Mimi picked up her pink coat and pulled it on, hugging it to her body against the cold. Tai pulled his brown one on, shoved his hands into the pockets. With one last embrace, the two left the grove.  
  
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He bit his lip tightly. Squeezing his eyes tight against the pain, he drew the blade across his skin. A thin line of red followed the blade, eventually spreading out, the blood dribbling down his arm. Slowly, his face relaxed, as even a half-smile spread across his features.  
  
He'd never really wanted to start it. In fact, he used to be adamantly against the habit. But after a messy breakup, he was at a loss at what to do. In the midst of his depression, this seemed the most logical thing to do. That low was far behind him now, but still the habit persisted. When he was in a good mood, he wondered why he started it and even kept up the habit. But at the end of the day, it was a good way to release all his bad memories.  
  
He slid the razor over his skin again, creating a new slash, and repeated the whole process. The blood that leaked out dripped into the sink, creating bright red lines towards the drain in the center. He turned on the faucet to rinse the blood off his arm. Finishing that, he opened the cabinet above the sink, taking out the peroxide to clean off the blood from the sink.  
  
The phone rang. He let the answering machine get it. "Tai, remember, we're gonna all meet at Tino's tomorrow. Don't forget this time!" He sighed, and pulled out his pajamas from the depths of the mass of blankets atop his bed. He pulled his shirt on, followed by the baggy pajama pants, a Christmas gift from Kari, but who cared? They did the job.  
  
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Authors note: Shorter than the others, I know. But now there's ROMANCE! Hahaha. 


	3. A coma?

Don't own, just manipulate.

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"Guys!" Yolei was freaking out about something as she ran into the pizza place. The others groaned inwardly. She approached the table, out of breath and feebly waving her pager. Most eyes in the restaurant were on her. She panted, regaining enough breath to speak. "I just got an email from the hospital," Now she had their attention. Eyes wide, T.K., Davis, and Kari waited to hear what she would say next.

"Cody's in a coma."

"What?!" exclaimed Davis, always the one to talk before he thought.

"A coma, Davis. He got hit by a drunk driver." Sympathetic looks all around. "They said he had," she paused, slightly stumbling over the words, "inter-cranial injury with concussion, and internal bleeding. He's on life-support."

Kari, ever the caring one, moved over to Yolei and patted her arm. "I-I'm so sorry, Yolei. Do you want to talk about it?"

"No, I'm okay, Kari. But we could go visit him, visiting hours are open right now…"

"Alright, let's go," Kari answered. T.K. and Davis groaned. Kari glared at them. Davis stared longingly at the pizza. With a sigh, they both got up. "Here, we'll take my car." Kari pulled out her keyring, adorned with an impossible amount of keys and cute and witty keychains. Finding the remote button, she pressed it, and the lights flashed on on the car as it unlocked.

The car was a present from her parents, of course, which she received on her sixteenth birthday. What parents couldn't give their daughter her dream car? Especially a girl like Kari. Sparkling clean record, obedient, a sweetheart. They couldn't not get it for her. The car itself was a cute vapor blue Volkswagen Beetle that just screamed Kari. The outside was adorned with removable stickers, and the majority of the windows were covered with window clings.

She waved the group into the car, easily fitting all four teens inside. After clambering into the front seat, she shifted out of park and pulled out of the parking lot, towards the hospital.

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Patiently, they waited in the elevator, an uneasy silence falling over them as they waited. Finally the doors slid smoothly open with a soft 'ding' and the group traveled in silence down the sterile halls. Finally coming to Cody's room, Yolei threw herself, sobbing, face-first onto Cody's bed. The others just looked on, unsure what to do or say. In the dim light of the window-blinded room, another figure could be discerned, resting in an uncomfortable standard-issue hospital chair.

Izzy had come to visit Cody, of course. He had seen so much of himself in the little chap. Only a few minutes after the doctors had deemed it okay to visit him, Izzy had arrived, keeping a silent vigil over the small boy who was like a little brother to him.

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Izzy had always been the geekiest one of the group. It wasn't that he didn't fit in, oh no, the others in the group frequently included him and requested his presence. In early years, he was hardly ever seen without his yellow pineapple laptop in his hands or in its backpack. But soon he grew away from it, discovering he could obtain more interaction socially than digitally. Slowly, he grew out of his shell, spending more time out at clubs or just generally out with society than he did bathing the light off his computer screen. He had even started dating around.

Speaking of dates, Izzy was currently sprucing himself up before his second date with a special someone. A few months ago, he had cut his hair down from its old mass into a much more manageable length.

Having dressed himself casually, now he was focusing on his hair as the radio warbled in the background. First, he pushed it forward. Then flat. Then spiked up. Then to the back. Then parted on the side. He almost left it in the side part, but realized that it looked like he was trying too hard. Instead, he pushed both hands through his hair for a 'just rolled out of bed' look.

Finishing with his grooming, he drove off to meet his date at a small café in town. Reaching the coffee shop, he stopped and put his Jeep in park at the side of the road.

He walked in, quickly recognizing the young man he had met at The Pulse the other night and took out to dinner.

Claudio stood up, greeting Izzy with his friendly latino smile, the same smile that had so disarmed Izzy the other night. Izzy's heart skipped a beat whenever he looked into that mocha-colored face, those swirling chocolate pools flecked with greenish-gold. His dark hair was combed but not too tidy.

Izzy climbed into the high seat across from Claudio and gestured for him to do the same. 

"I was hoping you hadn't forgotten me," commented Claudio, in a joking manner, his accented voice adding a lilting quality to his speech.

Izzy smiled, reaching out to rest his hand on top of Claudio's. "How could I forget someone like you?" After an order of coffee, the two settled into easy conversation.


End file.
